defense financial management. and the most significant thing that can be done in this area is finally getting the department auditable. there can be no doubt that the ability of the department to be audited independently would help ensure that defense dollars are not wasted, lost, or otherwise misused. absent audittability, the general accountability office, the g.a.o., has since 1995 designated the department's financial management as high risk. today's fiscal challenges bring new urgency to the issue of audittability at the department of defense. to navigate successfully through this period of austerity and fiscal uncertainty without inadvertently impinging on military readiness, the department will have to make management decisions that are fully informed and carefully calibrated. and to ensure intended results, the department has to make sure that these decisions are being executed as planned. from well-managed companies in the private sector, which have to make decisions like this all the time, we know that r